


Fall Fates

by Lord_KH



Series: Seasons Trilogy [3]
Category: Persona 4, Persona Series
Genre: Angst and Feels, Asexual Character, Bisexual Male Character, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, Dorks in Love, Drama & Romance, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, Meeting the Parents, Multi, Nonbinary Character, Nonbinary Shirogane Naoto, Persona 3 References, Self-Esteem Issues, Teen Romance, Teenage Drama, UNUSUAL SHIPS, Unrequited Crush
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:28:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24660811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lord_KH/pseuds/Lord_KH
Summary: An explosive summer, filled with romance, has given way to a blissfull fall. Yukiko and Kanji feel their relationship heating up, while Yosuke and Naoto find themselves struggling to maintain a long-distance one. Amidst all these new and different feelings, the realities of everyday life start to make themselves known: school, family, and the unknown future. Meanwhile, Teddie finds himself in the unfortunate position of wanting to grow up and find love of his own, even if it is with someone who could blink him out of existence, and Chie finds the one thing any martial arts master could ever want: a pupil. Their fates share the same paths as the leaves: will the they be bright and brilliant, or dark and barren? Sequel to "Summer Dreams," finale of the Seasons Trilogy
Relationships: Amagi Yukiko/Tatsumi Kanji, Hanamura Yosuke/Shirogane Naoto, Kuma | Teddie/Marie (Persona Series), Satonaka Chie & Yumi Ozawa
Series: Seasons Trilogy [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/966738
Comments: 7
Kudos: 12





	1. Solstice Day

_Friday, 9/22/12, Yasogami High School, Late Afternoon…_

Chie growled as she ascended the school’s main staircase, each step up compounding her nasty mood. She never liked staying after school for any longer than she absolutely had to but she had scheduled a session with the school’s guidance counselor that had taken a whole _hour_ , which had been a very frustrating experience. All she had were like _two_ questions on how best to tailor her final year towards her intended career choice of being a police officer, and it turned into a big lecture! The counselor basically held her feet to the fire for her grades and because she never joined a club; apparently people who want to be a public servant were also expected to have good grades and a broad range of interests. As such, the recommendation was to push her grades up, at least try and join a club with what little time she had left, and push for a decent university before she applied to be an officer. Chie had pushed back since she had heard all you needed was a high school graduation, but the counselor, a stuffy older guy she had never even seen before, scoffed and told her that was the “ _basic_ requirement.”

She was still so mad about it that she slammed her hand on the rail as she stepped out onto the second floor. Who the hell did that guy think he was, talking to her like that!? He didn’t _say_ it, of course, but she could _totally_ see that he was talking down to her, acting like she wasn’t good enough to be a police officer. What did he know, anyways? She’d show his stupid ass. This was why she had made it up to the second floor to look for the club bulletin board in order to see if there was _anything_ she could join to try and improve her transcript. The middle of the year was a pretty bad spot to try and join, but there had to be something, right? Her green athletic jacket bounced against her bare legs as she turned down the hallway and saw the big board near the entrance to the practice building.

As usual, the board was a mess of different flyers of all shapes and colors attached to a plain white sheet of bulletin board paper. Next to many of the advertisements were sign-up sheets that had a pencil or pen on a string pinned to them, and to Chie’s chagrin, many of them were filled with scribbled names. If she was going to take any club it would have been one of the martial arts clubs like kendo, but that was all full up, as were all the sports clubs, which were at least athletic in nature. After that, the only ones with available spots were geek clubs like calligraphy and English, which were hard passes, and the dork clubs (distinct from the geek clubs in that they were for dorks instead) like drama, yearbook, and broadcasting.

 _All_ of these sucked! Chie did not want to spend _two whole hours_ after school learning how to write fancy or any of the other weird things the cultural clubs had in mind. Was this really it for her? The clubs themselves probably didn’t want to deal with a newbie entering mid-year anyways, and in addition she wasn’t going to be sticking around for much longer as a third year. Did she really _need_ to be in a club so bad? At this rate she would have rather worried about her grades then have to put up with trying to fit in with a bunch of new people and give up all her spare time.

“Screw this,” she huffed, shaking her head at the board and turning to head back downstairs and finally get home. She didn’t know why she was so wound up – it was annoying to hear the counselor creep talk down to her, sure, but she supposed it was easier when she could just bitch about it to her friends instead of having to deal with it on her own. Now that everyone was hooking up, that left Chie as the odd woman out; walking home alone was starting to become a more regular occurrence when it was almost unfathomable before. Yukiko and Kanji were getting _pretty_ cozy with one another, and although they never said it, Chie was starting to feel like a third wheel, which sucked. Obviously she was happy for them, but it was hard to not have her best friend with her all the time. Yosuke was technically in the same boat as Yukiko, although Naoto had been gone for a long time now. He was still the same as ever, and he had really taken a shine to overreacting anytime Yukiko and Kanji were being intimate, which even Chie found funny. Still, it wasn't hard for Chie to see that Naoto's absence weighed on him a lot; his cheekiness and somewhat lax attitude had regressed a bit in favor of a more blank stoicism that seemed to bleed into his eyes, making them not as mischievously bright. Their relationship was an intense, odd one that Chie didn’t fully understand, but she respected Yosuke enough to give him his space while he dealt with it.

A bit lost in her thoughts, Chie had barely noticed a white blouse similar to hers suddenly appear in front of her before it was too late

“ _Oof!“_

Her natural instincts kicked in, unconsciously causing her to shift her weight and land on her back foot. The other person wasn’t so lucky, stumbling a bit before luckily catching themselves against the wall. It was a girl with shoulder-length black hair that was held back a bit by a sky blue barrette at the right side of her forehead. She was red in the face as she recovered herself, glaring at Chie.

Whatever the response, Chie was in too foul a mood to care. “Hey, watch where you’re goin’!” she squawked, hands on her hips as she got right up in the other girl’s face. Immediately the girl’s glare softened a bit in fear, but she surprisingly stood her ground.

“Y-you watch where _you’re_ going! I barely got up the stairs before you came stomping through!” Her voice was a little nasally and deep, which was enough for Chie to latch on to.

“’ _You watch where you’re goin’,’_ puh-lease!” Chie mocked, doing a goofy imitation of the girl, “I didn’t even see you come up the stairs!”

“Obviously!” _Ooh_ , this girl was asking for it! Still, Chie could respect the guts it took to stand her ground. She gave the girl a once-over again; she looked _kind of_ familiar.

Chie, never one for subtlety, decided to be blunt. “Hey, don't I know you? What’s your name?” 

This did little to disarm the girl, who was still clenching a fist to calm her nervous energy. “O-Ozawa. Yumi Ozawa. And I know who _you_ are, Satonaka-san.” Well that wasn’t too surprising; being Yukiko’s best friend tended to bring Chie a lot of attention. But Ozawa, that name was _definitely_ ringing some bells. It only took a few more seconds for Chie to remember who she was: she was at the train station when Yu left to go back home. Apparently they were pretty tight, or so it seemed. She didn’t care for the attitude, but if Narukami was close to her, that had to count for _something_.

“Ozawa…Third year, right?” Chie watched as Yumi carefully nodded her head, still wary of what Chie was going to do. “You’re friends with Narukami-kun, aren’t you?” That finally got her to relax a little.

“Uh, ye-yeah. So?” Yumi was now back to her full height, looking more intrigued than confrontational. Chie sighed, realizing that given her already poor grades, she probably didn’t need to start causing any more trouble, especially if it was a friend of Yu’s. She was too riled up and taking it out on the wrong people.

“It’s nothing. Just…Never mind. My bad.” Chie backed off and turned to walk away, only for Yumi to step in front of her again.

“Wait! You, uh…You’re pretty close to him too, right?” she asked softly. Chie nodded, unsure where this was going. “Is he…Is he doing alright, back in the city?”

Seemed harmless enough. Chie shrugged. “’Bout as well as he can, all things considered.” Yumi breathed a sigh of relief, but it didn’t escape Chie how her body language had shifted once the subject had changed to Yu. Jeez, how many hearts did Narukami capture while he was in Inaba!?

“That’s good to hear,” Yumi replied, tucking her hair back behind her left ear. “Sorry if I came at you kinda hard, I’ve just been _super_ stressed out lately.”

“Yeah, been a kinda rough day for me, too,” Chie admitted, rubbing the back of her bowl-shaped auburn hair, “Didn’t mean to snap at ya.”

There was an awkward silence as the unfamiliar girls exchanged glances and slightly nervous laughs. Yumi eventually broke it by looking behind Chie toward the bulletin board. “Were you checking out the club board?”

“Yeah,” Chie sighed again, turning her head back to the board, “But nothing is really interesting to me, ya know? I only really wanted to join the martial arts clubs, but those are filled up, and I sure as hell ain’t gonna do drama or some other dorky thing!”

Yumi actually looked a little disappointed. “The martial arts clubs are still full? Shoot…That’s what I was coming to check. I’ve been trying to get in one for months.”

Oh? Now Chie had something she could sink her teeth into. “Yeah? Which were you lookin’ to join?”

“ _Any_ of them would do, I guess. I just want to learn how to defend myself. After all those murders and the fog stuff…I dunno, call me paranoid, but you never know.”

It was easy to forget, but the vast majority of Inaba would never have a clue of how the events of the past year occurred. For all they knew, disappearances and murders begat a month-long fog that suddenly vanished one day. Any reasonable person would be scared out of their wits, most likely.

Just like earlier, Chie had no problem stating her opinion loudly and proudly. “Well, if ya ask _me_ , kendo and judo are nice an’ all, but better for competition than the real world.” She couldn’t help the grin that came up, feeling very in her element. “Not everyone’s gonna grab you so you can flip ‘em, ya know? Sometimes you gotta go on the offense and kick some heads!”

Yumi blinked, looking unsure of what to say. “O-oh, really? Have you, erm, studied any martial arts before?”

Boy, _had she_. “Well, not to toot my own horn,” she snickered, rubbing the front of her nose with her thumb, “But I actually practice something I cooked up on my own in my spare time. I call it Satonaka-style, and it totally kicks ass!”

As proud as Chie was, Yumi looked a little less than impressed. “Oh, I thought you meant like a _real_ style…”

Oh no she did _not_. “It _is_ a real style!” Chie growled, “With real results! These legs ‘o mine have taken out some of the slimiest, nastiest, most disgusting shad – !” She somehow managed to choke the words back down her throat before she finished the thought. What was she doing!? Normies like Yumi couldn’t know about shadows and stuff!

“I-I’m sorry, _what_ kind of things?”

Chie had to think fast. “M-most disgusting, _shhhhaaaddd_ - _y_ bullies th-that like to pick on the little kids around here. Yeah!” She used a nervous laugh to cover up her relieved sigh. That wasn’t technically _untrue_ , since she had scared off some neighborhood bullies, but the confrontation hadn’t actually come to blows. Nevertheless, Chie was confident that had it come to that, she _totally_ would have kicked their ass.

This did manage an eyebrow raise out of Yumi. “Huh, really? So you’ve actually used it on other people?”

“Sure have!” Chie nodded, hands proudly on her hips again. “Trust me, it’s the real deal.”

Yumi rubbed her chin, her eyes shifting back and forth nervously. “Um, this is going to sound kind of sudden, but…Is there any way I could join you for a practice session? To see what it looks like?”

Woah, _what!?_ “D-d’ya mean you wanna watch me train? H-how come?”

“Honestly, I don’t know the first thing about martial arts,” Yumi explained, rubbing her arm a bit, “You seem to know _way_ more than most other people I know. Even if it’s just the total basics, it’s more than I’d learn waiting for a club spot to open up.”

It _was_ weird, but it was hard to deny that Chie’s ego was stroked by the idea, and on a day when she needed that especially bad. How could she refuse? “E-erm, sh-sure, I guess. Soooo…How does this work, do you wanna meet up after school or…?”

Before she could finish speaking Yumi had reached into her book bag and pulled out a pen and a notebook. She scribbled something onto a page before tearing off the top half and passing it to Chie. On it was a phone number.

“That’s my mobile number. Just text me when you plan on having it, and I’ll make sure I have the time, okay?”

“You got it…”

“Great! Thanks,” Yumi bowed politely before closing up her book bag again. “I’ve got to get to work, but try to let me know a day ahead of time, okay? I work on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, but other than that I should be good.”

“Will do,” Chie nodded, folding the scrap of paper and tucking it under her wristband for safe keeping. “Seeya later, Ozawa-kun.”

“Same, Satonaka-san!”

As Yumi exited out the stairwell Chie stood in a bit of a daze. Was that _real!?_ Chie wasn’t exactly unapproachable but it wasn’t common that she (literally) ran into people and exchanged small talk. And for someone to take an interest in her martial arts knowledge and style? Even _weirder_. Still, Yumi seemed nice and it wasn’t like she had to change her whole schedule around to accommodate her. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.

Plus, worst came to worst and Yumi was just doing some long con to make fun of her? Nothing a little roundhouse kick couldn’t solve.

The sun was starting to glow orange through all the windows, meaning Chie had already been at school far longer than should ever have been necessary. The anger from the counselling session was starting to drift away as her thoughts became consumed with kicks, punches, and stances on the trip down the stairs and on the path back home.

* * *

_Friday, 9/22/12, Samegawa Flood Plain, Late Afternoon…_

“It’s _really_ okay? You don’t think it’s too, like…shaggy?”

“No, not at all! I like it when you have it over your forehead like that. Plus it helps to cover up the thinning parts!”

” _Y-Yuki!_ What th’hell!?”

“Hmm? I thought that’s why you did it? It’s nothing to be ashamed of, it happens to a lot of boys!”

“Geez…Yer cold as ice, y’know that? You really wanna be sayin’ that kinda stuff ta someone holdin’ yer hair?”

“Oh, I’m not worried. You know what happens if it looks bad, right?”

“E-er….Y-yeah, yeah I do…”

“ _Hee hee hee…_ ”

It may have been the hot fall day going on around him, but Kanji still felt a bead of anxious sweat drip down his temple and across the black plastic arm of his glasses. Discerning the different types of laughs his girlfriend had was difficult but he was starting to get the hang of it; she was mostly kidding when it was a staggered chuckle like this. _Mostly_.

The couple was relaxing under the shade of the gazebo between the floodplain and the river. Not too many people came all the way down to the embankment, so the two were left largely alone to enjoy the ambience. The change of the seasons meant that what was once green now bled red and orange, although the heat had yet to let up, and the view from the gazebo table gave a nice view of the bank on the opposite side overflowing with the newly colored leaves. The sight was pretty, but Kanji found his far fairer: Yukiko’s inky black hair, expertly being twisted into a bun by his delicate hands. It never failed to impress him how wonderful her hair felt spilling over his fingers and his hands, black water that never failed to retain its shape. He would be lying if he said he didn’t take a little extra time to be selfish and gently play with it just for himself.

He was sitting on the actual table top while Yukiko sat with her back to him on the bench, innocently chatting away while he worked. She had asked him if he could help her do it since she had apparently tried and made a bit of a mess out of it. Kanji had seen his mother do it enough times that he was something of an expert, using a comb he borrowed from her to brush her hair into place for the actual bun.

It felt good to hear she approved of his hairstyle, as he had been experimenting with how to best tame the increasingly growing mop on his head. Slicking it back had always been his answer before but now he saw the benefit in adding a bit of flair to his everyday look; now he had it so a well-coifed fringe of black hair cascaded across his forehead and a bit over his right eye. It looked messy but it was all calculated; a bit of spray and product kept it so the front firm in place while it remained a little bushy in back and around his ears. He was less happy to hear that Yukiko had expertly noticed that the fringe tended to hide that he was thinning out a bit and had a pronounced widow’s peak, but it was kind of cute that she paid that much attention.

“How’s it looking?” Yukiko asked, shifting her head a little.

“Good, better ‘f ya sit still,” Kanji gently chastised, causing her to suck her teeth and turn her head back around.

“Sorry!” She sat still for a few seconds before trying to talk again. “What was it that you called this again?”

Kanji knew exactly what he was walking into. “A ‘donut bun,’ that’s what everyone calls it.”

“ _-snnrrkkt-_ _Haha_ that’s great! That’s _so_ much more fun than just calling it a ‘bun’” A snort was good, that meant she was genuinely having trouble containing her joy. Kanji found that one to be the cutest.

“ _Tch_ , goofball…” He chuckled quietly, finally snapping a second band over the lump of hair positioned on top of the previous band. All that was left was to curl and twist the remaining strands of hair around the bun so as to not only hide the apparatus giving it its ‘donut’ shape but also add a little stylish flourish. It was very hard to not sit and admire her slender, graceful neck spotted with little wisps of loose hair as he finished up.

“There, all done.” He handed Yukiko the small compact mirror that was lying on the table so she could admire it. Much like when he had braided her hair, she was ecstatic, jumping out of her seat.

“- _Gasp-_ It’s _amazing!_ How did you do it so perfectly!? Where did I go wrong?” Kanji blushed at her hyperbolic praise.

“S’okay Yuki, you’ll get it. Think you jus’ missed combin’ out yer hair around the bun band.” It wasn’t _that_ hard, but Yukiko always seemed to take a delight in even the most mundane of crafty things Kanji was capable of. He gently slid down from the table top onto the bench as she continued to fawn over the new hairdo.

“Maybe you’re right,” she sighed, breaking her gaze on her compact to look over at him, “But still, you did great! Thank you _so_ much, precious, I love it! _–smeck-_ “

As usual, Yukiko’s lips acted like a flamethrower igniting Kanji’s face. ‘Precious’ was a fairly new thing she had started calling him; Kanji knew it was supposed to be lame for a girl to have a cutesy nickname for a guy (so he ws told), but he wondered if the guys that said that were either crazy or in denial about how _awesome_ it felt. Between the name, the kiss on the cheek and the heat of the dipping sun, Kanji felt he might be in danger of melting for real. Wouldn’t be a bad last day either, he thought.

He tugged on the neckline of his blue and orange tank top to try and ventilate himself. He loathed the starchy, uncomfortable white shirt of the summer uniform and nearly always stripped it off immediately after he exited the school grounds, and today was no different. Surprisingly, however, Yukiko had decided that it was also a tad too warm for her usual red cardigan; it lay neatly folded on her school bag on the table alongside Kanji’s balled up shirt. Kanji had never seen Yukiko without some sort of sweater over her uniform, but more importantly he had never noticed how cropped the blouse was. Because Yukiko had one arm up admiring her hair the white blouse was riding up, giving just the faintest peek at her pale midriff. As Kanji lazily leaned back onto the table with his elbows he found himself unable to pull his gaze away; he wondered if it was going to keep going until he could see her belly button. He barely noticed her turn to face him again and he felt his face flare up, hoping she didn’t notice him leering.

Yukiko quietly took a seat next to him, a somewhat somber look in her eyes. Was she...upset? “Hmm? ‘Sup?” he asked gently, afraid of what he might hear.

“This is great and everything, but…I sort of wish we could have done this somewhere _else_ …” She didn’t have to say any more for Kanji to get the hint.

“Ye-yeah, I know…”

“It’s not like it’s a big secret anymore…You know how this town works.” Kanji had relaxed a little about being openly affectionate with Yukiko around school, which meant that Yukiko’s popularity and his own infamy had mixed together into a weird, mutated strain of attention that was awfully contagious. Guys he had never seen before were coming up to him, offering their congratulations on conquering “The Amagi Challenge,” whatever that was. Even more weird were girls coming up to him and asking him about his relationship, if it was real, and if he were interested in hanging out with them. He neglected to tell Yukiko about the last bit, fearing she may take it the wrong way.

Still, word _had_ spread like wildfire, and Yukiko’s hint wasn’t lost on him: if the kids all knew about it, there was no way a lot of the adults in town weren’t being made aware of it either, including their folks.

“If my ma knows,” he sighed, “she ain’t said anythin’. What about your parents?”

Yukiko shook her head. “That doesn’t mean they _don’t_ know, though…” After a brief pause to chew on her glossy bottom lip, she came right out with it. "Is it something about _me?"_

"Y-Yuki..."

A simple question, powerful enough to cause Kanji’s heart to plunge into his gut. She was a master of gentle conversation, but there was no denying that his passivity on the matter was disappointing to her. It was the _one_ thing he had been most afraid of, yet here he was screwing it up. He couldn't pinpoint when, but the idea of meeting her folks had suddenly become a bogeyman that was impossible to shake. His past loomed heavy, sure, but Kanji had lately began to get even more worried that who he was now would meet with as much disapproval if he showed up looking like a punk. Empowered by Yukiko’s supportive attitude, Kanji had taken to dressing more like he always wanted to in brighter colors and more flashy styles, as well as grooming himself and generally embracing the allegedly feminine traits that he always ran from. While this was liberating and fun for him, he was aware it could stir trouble. In addition to the old-style inn, Kanji knew that Yukko’s family was proud of its traditional background; would he get the same glares he’d gotten from some of the other old-timers around town? He wasn’t afraid for himself as much as he was for Yukiko, who would then naturally have to deal with incurring her family’s wrath just to be with his worthless ass. How was that _possibly_ be worth it? 

“Hey.”

A graceful, slender hand ran itself through the fringe on his forehead, pushing it out of his eye, before perching itself on his chest, right around where his heart would be. He looked up to see soft, beautiful, beguiling brown eyes waiting to meet his stare. “If it helps…It's a little scary to me. The staff at the inn teases me about it all the time, but I know they’d be _very_ wary of someone I was seeing, and the same goes for my parents. I know they’d mean well, but it’s still nerve-wracking when everyone has high expectations for any…erm… _boys_ ,” she shoved out, turning the color of her cardigan, “But you _have_ to trust me when I say that even if the worst possible thing happened, and my parents didn’t approve…I know now that I have to trust myself to choose the path _I_ want, not what anybody else wants. And whatever path that ends up being…I want _you_ to be on it with me.”

Don’t cry, _don’t cry_ , Kanji thought as his eyes started to buckle under the pressure of his tear ducts. What could he possibly say to that? Even with all his friends it was hard to remember that he wasn’t alone and people actually had his back. But Yukiko went a bit further, always reassuring him that not only was he not alone, but _needed_. In that sense, letting her down was even more unacceptable than it would have been otherwise. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath, opening them to see her still there with a hand on him, melancholy eyes betraying a faint smile. He was determined to fix that.

“Ya know…yer right!” he barked, reaching his hand up and placing it over hers on his heart, “I ain’t any kinda man if I just…wuss out now! ‘S long as I got you, then I know nothin’ bad’s gonna happen. You name the time and place and I’ll be there!” His heart soared as he watched Yukiko brighten up again

“Really!? You-you will?! Oh, Kanji…” She placed her other hand over his, sandwiching it between both of her hands.

Adrenaline started to take over as Kanji reveled in his newfound confidence. “Yup! I’m gonna do it! I’ll be ready ta kick ass an’…Er, not _kick_ ass, ‘cuz that would be bad, and I w-want people ta know I ain’t into all that, but, ya know…I ain’t kickin’ _nothin’_ , I promise!” This was going off the rails quicker than he expected.

Luckily, Yukiko’s soft snort let him know he was on the right track. “- _snrrkt-_ Well, you’re a pretty _kickass_ boyfriend, so keep doing that and I’m sure you’ll do fine! I’ll let my parents know that I want to bring a guest to dinner, and they’ll set aside some time. Let’s do it Wednesday; the middle of the week is the least busy, less chance we’ll be interrupted by inn business!” It sounded like she had been wanting to say that for a while, Kanji noticed. Still, her smile was bright and genuine, which is all he could have hoped for.

As they both gazed at each other, Kanji felt like this was his move. They had just agreed to do something really bold, she was already touching him, their hands were clasped. _Surely_ now would be the right time to pull her in for a hug? Maybe even a kiss? But any time his brain told him to do it, his muscles never quite spurred to action, always paralyzed by some other internal inhibitor. The confused feelings must have showed on his face, for Yukiko gave him a quizzical look before her phone buzzed from her purse and she went to grab it. With her hands removed from close proximity the pressure to act was released, giving Kanji a moment to suck back in the air he’d been unconsciously holding back.

“Oh, _great._ I guess the cooks are running low on tofu. That means I’ll have to stop by Rise’s grandmother’s on my way home to grab some for the evening shift. That leaves me…“ She was lost in her own little world as she flitted about gathering up all her things. Wait, she was leaving just like that? Kanji balked, the thought of having wasted yet another potential romantic moment freezing his once-hot blood. Why didn’t he _say_ something? He knew exactly what he wanted to say, could even _see_ the words in his mind’s eye, yet they remained stuck in recesses of his throat.

What came out sounded dreadful. “Y-you leavin’?” He barely heard himself say it over the creaking of the river behind him. He didn’t think Yukiko did either, as she continued to get her stuff in order without acknowledging it. Clenching a fist, Kanji stared down at the grass and tried to relax, realizing he was too deep in his head again, when he felt a soft hand cup his right cheek and force him to look back up. Before he could respond he was muzzled by another pair of lips, overloading his senses with the familiar sensation of a sweet cherry taste, almost like candy.

The feeling wasn’t new but once he closed his eyes he was inevitably teleported back to the entrance of the Amagi Inn, back to the very first time. He was better at it now, of course; a few weeks of practice taught him how to manage his breathing and to actually close his eyes, but it still felt just as hypnotic and unbelievable. Like always, it ended after a few seconds only for Yukiko to place one more little stamp across his bottom lip, punctuated by a teasing smile.

“Sorry! They _really_ need that tofu,” she tittered, standing back up to her full height. Kanji was still too dazed to offer a response; how did she go back to normal so fast? “I’ll see you tomorrow, precious! Thanks again for fixing the…the – _snrrkkt- donut_ bun hahahahaaha!” The sounds of her obnoxious laughter carried through the air as she made her way up the small path back to the main road and toward the shopping district.

“B-bye, Yuki…” he mumbled, way too late for her to remotely hear him. Kanji got up and took a breath so deep it made him put his hands on his knees. Was it going to be like this every time? His body _screamed_ to meet her passion with his own, to push further into every kiss and hold her close and never let go, but somehow he always blew it at the last second. He wanted to apologize every time he saw her afterwards, but wouldn’t it make him sound like some sort of creep? Like all he could think about was how badly he wanted to put his hands on her? Oh shit…now he was thinking about the peek of midriff he got to see…

He shot straight back up, hoping the rush of the action would get his brain to focus on more important things. Like the fact that he agreed to meet with Yukiko’s parents for dinner! Boy did that bring on a whole new slew of potential worries. He grabbed his shirt and rolled it onto his neck, hurriedly jogging back toward the main road, the nervous energy making him increase his pace as soon as he hit the pavement.

* * *

_Friday, 9/22/12, Junes Employee Breakroom, Late Afternoon_

“S-sorry, I _am_ psyched for ya, but…

“ _But what? What is it?”_ It was subtle, but the irritated tone was back in her voice again. Yosuke had to tread carefully.

“Well…Does that mean you’re gonna be home soon?”

“ _…It is difficult to say. Even though we’ve more or less found our culprits, building a case will involve a thorough amount of subterfuge, such as processing proper claims through human resources and –“_

“ _-Sigh-_ So ‘no,’ then?”

 _“…If you don’t care for what I have to say then I do not understand why you call.”_ The acid in Naoto’s voice would have burned Yosuke if he was in spitting distance.

“Hey, I…Grr,” Yosuke huffed as he set his phone down on the round table, feeling a lippy remark slide back down his throat. He just asked a question…

The silence went on for a while before he heard her familiar sigh. _“I-I’m sorry, I’m just…tired. It has been a very long day,”_ she nearly whispered, the grouchy tone melting into one of quiet regret.

Naoto’s bluntness meant she rarely engaged in performative social graces, to Yosuke’s relief. “’S okay, Naoto. Really.” he said softly, adjusting the big earphone cups squeezing his ears.

 _“Would that I could, I would take the next train back to Inaba,”_ She explained, talking far too fast to be thinking this through rationally, _“As far as I am concerned we are at the endgame, merely unraveling legal red tape, and not actively investigating. Maybe I'll tell Kirijo-san –“_

“Squirt.”

_“It is possible she would understand; she may seem cold but I have found her to be rational and fair. All I would need to do is make a convincing argument that –“_

“ _Squirt.”_

Another long pause. _“My apologies, I…I want this to be over as soon as possible, too.”_

“Well that’s not gonna happen if our little genius is too tired to crack the case!” Yosuke chirped, putting on a fake smile for the benefit of no one, “You go get some rest, I gotta get to work anyways.”

_“I-I will, thank you.”_

“Anytime.” Saying goodbye was always the hardest part. “I’ll, uh…I’ll call ya again tomorrow, alright?”

_“Alright…Yosuke?”_

Her voice was soft again. “Yeah?”

_“I miss you **terribly** , my love. I f-feel as if I don’t say that enough.”_

Yosuke found himself chuckling, if only to keep himself from sobbing. “You d-don’t have to. I miss you like _crazy,_ so I _know_ you do, too.” He forced another nervous laugh.

_“Hm. I will try to get a time estimate from Kirijo-san and update you as soon as I find out any new information.”_

“Sounds good.” Surely there was more to say; why couldn’t he think of anything?

_“I love you. Goodnight.”_

Shit. _Shit._ Pressure. “D-ditto. G‘night…”

_-Bloop-_

The earphones slipped down to Yosuke’s neck as he unplugged them and slipped his phone back into his pocket, the weight of the conversation heavy on his back. The Junes breakroom had luckily stayed empty throughout his call; although it had only been a ten minute conversation, Yosuke felt as if they had been talking for two hours. He took a few more minutes to unbutton and fold his white school shirt into his locker, swapping it for a large green Junes apron and a different headset attached to a walkie-talkie. His shift was only four hours today, but he already had a feeling it was going to pass like molasses.

Yosuke knew that Naoto being gone so early into their relationship was going to be incredibly difficult, but three weeks of long-distance communication was starting to chafe away at him. Without being able to read her body language or facial expressions (not that Naoto was particularly expressive either way), Yosuke had a difficult time finding a comfortable rhythm with her. She sounded annoyed _all_ the time; add to that, she could flip at a moment’s notice to reaffirming her love, like she did today. He didn’t know how to react or even what to say sometimes other than apologize and diffuse; her temper was _not_ something he wanted to stoke. Inevitably, however, he’d knew he’d get home and curse himself for his silence as he buried his face in the heavily Naoto-scented Squirt plushie, and the wound of Naoto’s absence would grow even larger. It was still weird to feel so lost without her, but it wasn’t like he could jam his hand into his chest to inspect his heart and see why it was acting this way.

Love was a weird thing.

It certainly didn’t help that he was eating lunch every day at school with Kanji and Yukiko, who were so cutesy with one another it was hard to watch. A favorite pastime of his and Chie’s had become mocking the two’s actions whenever they said goodbye to one another at the lunch bell, stars in their eyes. After school they would wait for each other so they could spend a little time together, clinging to one another like the world would was going to end; they seemed to be so happy sometimes that it _had_ to be an act. Or maybe Yosuke _hoped_ it was an act; if that was the sign of a successful relationship, then…

His radio sparked to life with a familiar high-pitched squeal, the immediate chatter of the other employees ringing in his ears. “Hey guys, it’s Yosuke. I’m on the clock now,” he said into the receiver on his headset. While he wasn’t exactly a floor manager, he was able to function as one in the evening when the others went home. While that was a big responsibility, he could barely focus on it now. Between work, his penultimate school semester and his increasingly complex relationship, Yosuke was starting to wonder if he had bit off more than he could chew. Most days he would end up lazily zooming through things on his laptop, too zoned out to really focus on any one thing. He was planning on attending a cram school in the city soon to focus on getting a good entrance exam score so he could get into a good university business program, and that was just another thing to add on top of the pile. If Naoto leaving like this was going to be a regular occurrence, how would it work if they had no time to even talk to each other on the phone? Not that _that_ was even working very well…

Before he got too lost in his thoughts, another squeal came from his walkie. “ _Yooossukkkee_! _I was trying to help someone pick out a DVD but they wandered off while I was explaining the plot of this movie! Help a bear out, would ya?”_

Yosuke smacked a hand to his forehead, trying to withhold a giggle. Teddie’s lack of knowledge about most non-TV World concepts meant that he tended to just babble on about things that interested _him_ rather than listen and conceptualize a customer’s request. The recent experiment to have him do less mascot-y work was trying and annoying, but right now it was a welcome distraction.

“On it, Ted. Just don’t scare any other customers off, okay?”

* * *

“Nooo problem, Yosuke! Leave it to me!”

Teddie hummed a happy little ditty as he turned back to the large metal rack looming in front of the electronics section. How cool was this? He got to work with his best friend and roommate while putting away cool electronic gadgets, and they even _paid_ him for it! A little, anyways; Teddie once caught site of a little scrap of paper that had Yosuke’s pay scratched in pen on it and nearly fainted. No wonder he had a girlfriend, he thought: with that kind of moolah, you could take a pretty girl like Naoto anywhere and show her a good time! Sadly, there was no chance of that for Teddie, who could basically buy candy and trinkets and little else.

But that was okay, right? Living in the human world was so fulfilling and enriching every day that the treats and other pleasures were an added bonus for him. It was hard to believe, but it had already been a whole _year_ since he’d first come to the human world from the TV World. The progress had been amazing: he had a job, he had some money in his pocket, and wonderful friends who respected him. And the best was yet to come! His shift ended at 4:30, which meant he had just enough time to get home and turn Yosuke’s TV on to the evening local news and catch Mariko Kusumi, the new weather girl, light up the airwaves with her weather report.

Of course only Teddie and his friends knew the truth: “Mariko Kusumi” was actually Marie. Fed up with having to rely on Teddie’s meager budget for food and other adventures, Marie had bullied Teddie into helping her look for a job a few weeks earlier. Unfortunately for her, Teddie had little experience in this realm; he had more or less literally fell into being a Junes mascot and only his connections to Yosuke got him more work than that. While brainstorming, Marie had gotten annoyed at the sun beaming directly on them and made a face, magically making a ring of clouds surround the sun before a gentle summer breeze blew in. A shocked Teddie found out that Marie, having awakened to the truth of her godly powers, had the ability to control the weather depending on her mood. What better job for that then being the person telling everyone what the weather was going to be!?

Luckily the local news station had put out a public calling asking for new on-air talent in the newspaper. Teddie quickly put his eye for fashion to use, constructing Marie an outfit suitable for wowing the bigwigs at the news station. Sure, it was a woman’s version of the same outfit he wore, but the classics never died, did they? The other hurdle was that the application demanded a first and last name; Teddie was just going to write Yosuke’s surname, Hanamura, for the last name, but Marie had something else in mind. Her creative mind quickly spun out the name “Mariko Kusumi,” a twist on her name she called a _nom de guerre_ , whatever that was. Armed with a new name and new look, Marie approached her interview with gusto, storming past the other interviewees and even the bosses directly onto a live broadcast, loudly proclaiming that her good mood would project radiant sunshine across all of Inaba. Whether it was out of respect for her totally accurate prediction or fear of what she would do if they turned her down, Teddie didn’t know, but Marie ended up getting the job and was now on the air five times a week.

Teddie couldn't have been prouder of Marie. Yeah, she could be scary when she was mad and sometimes even cruel, but he knew deep down that she was just lonely, maybe like he was. It was a terrible thing to not know who you were, to have lived a life that you didn't remember, where the truth could leave you even more devastated and lost than you were before. The only reason he had gotten through it was through the help of his loved ones, who showed him grace when he needed it. The TV World was a paradise, sure, but Teddie wondered if she came to the same conclusion he did: it was better to live in a place that was sometimes ugly if it meant being with people who cared about you. Hanging out with Teddie and everyone else was already having an effect; she was laughing and smiling more, and her performance as Mariko was almost like a complete transformation, shifting from grouchy poet to bubbly idol with the red flash of the camera’s light. Gone was the fashionable yet loud outfit of safety pins and combat boots, and in was the professional yet flirty blouse and pencil skirt, her unnaturally jade eyes shifting into a more common shade of brown, further obscured by a fashionable pair of eyeglasses.

If he was telling the truth, it sort of saddened him to see the eye change. Sure, she was sexy, and her little affectations while doing the news were really cute, but the eyes gave away that it was mostly an act. They just didn’t compare to how full of life and enchanting her natural eyes were, especially when they lit up after she smiled. Sadly, he was seeing that less and less as she got busier, often taking a long time after the news ended to sign autographs and attend meetings. By the time she was done she had exhausted all her energy and wanted to be left alone, which Teddie understood even if it made him sad. They had spent so much of the summer together that days with her were kind of his new normal; the change was difficult to take. Yosuke and Kanji now had girlfriends taking up their time, meaning Marie was often all Teddie had to hang out with. Without her there was an emptiness that was starting to remind him of lonelier times, stuck in his costume in the fog, wondering if he would ever know the friendship of other humans…

 _Wow_ ee! Why he was thinking like this!? Who had time to be sad when there was so much good coming up in just… _fifteen minutes!?_ It was 4:15, giving Teddie scant little time to finish up his task and clock out so he could get home to see Marie’s segment. Without delay he tossed a bunch of items from the rack into a nearby cart and lit off, panting as he tried to successfully squeeze a nearly 45-minute task into fifteen. It would be fine, so long as he could remember if it was the wired headphones that needed to be especially wrapped with a security device or the wireless. Wait…if he didn’t put one on either, then he wouldn’t have to choose and be wrong! Confident in his decision-making, Teddie raced on, thoughts of Marie’s sparkling eyes still dancing around his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes for Ch. 1:
> 
> -Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Seasons Trilogy! 
> 
> -If you're reading this now, I hope you're aware of the rumors that Persona 4: Golden will be coming to a PC's this week and excited about how many more people will now have access to this amazing game and cast of characters!
> 
> -Chie starts this, and she has quickly become one of my favorites to write. Her churlish speech and general mannerisms are a whole lot of fun to jot down, and I'm so happy she's going to be taking a more front-facing role in this story. Best big sister ever!
> 
> -That's right, you didn't misread: Yumi Ozawa has shown up in this story. I always liked Yumi, but she gets so little love even in adjacent P4 media that features the social links that I felt bad. She can be a bit of a spitfire sometimes, and I think Chie may finally be the one person she runs into who can match her passion and desire to be better.
> 
> -Yukiko and Kanji are out being mostly adorable. They had to go through a lot of angst, and hopefully this time they are able to balance it out with equal parts fluff. Kanji sure loves playing with her hair, doesn't he?
> 
> -Poor Yosuke and Naoto. So much love between the two of them, but frustratingly limited ways to show it. Being long distance, I felt, would exacerbate all of Naoto's social flaws, and Yosuke is trying to accommodate her while also feeling like he can't do anything right. And sadly, there may be darker times ahead! I wonder if Naoto's co-workers will have any advice for her...;)
> 
> -Lastly, Teddie! Teddie and Marie were pretty much on background antics duty last time, but they're getting a promotion this time. This has to be the first fic I've ever seen that has even suggested this, but Teddie can sadly see a lot of himself in Marie, and not always the good parts. Naturally his sympathy turns to admiration, and a whole summer of being attached at the hip has given Teddie strange new feelings. Does Marie even notice? Would she care?
> 
> -Just a brief bit too, but everyday the world gets crazier and crazier. The fight for equality and justice is a good thing, but it puts a lot of good people at risk for a scary disease. I hope everyone who reads this is staying safe and keeping in their hearts the strength to persevere even in tough times!
> 
> -Next time, we're heading to Tatsumi Port Island to check in on Naoto and her colleagues, and Marie will awaken in her makeup chair from a nap, only to see that things have suddenly taken a turn for the...blue!? Tune in next time and find out more!


	2. Journey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> \- A check-in with Naoto and Marie, both at the start of a long, draining journey

_Sunday, 9/24/12, Port Island Station Resort, Early Evening…_

 _“Ditto.”_ A strange, silly word, likely of Latin origin, usually used informally to communicate that something already said is applicable a second time.

Foreign as it was, the word was slowly consuming Naoto’s thoughts the longer she lay on her hotel bed. Her laptop hummed quietly at the hotel-provided desk across from the bed, her email open but no longer receiving incoming mail as the work day was over. In addition, there was a single web page open that had a dictionary listing for “ditto” along with its etymology. Like most times when Naoto became hyper-focused, she had researched and stuffed her head so full of information that would most likely be of no use to anyone else. She could just imagine Yosuke laughing at her getting all worked up over it.

That would still be a more tolerable outcome than him saying “ _ditto_ ” to her again.

It was a recent phenomenon of the past couple of weeks, but Yosuke had taken to replying “ditto” in any instance where she said “I love you” during their phone conversations. He would giggle nervously whenever he said it, but Naoto didn’t happen to think it was very funny and it didn’t take long to convince herself that something was wrong. There was a chance she was off base; decoding meaning and intent from conversation was not easy for her, particularly if she couldn’t at least try to read body language. Moreover, as she had learned throughout the past year of having real friends, she wasn’t the best at conveying her own feelings and emotions in her speech.

Case in point: for her, declaring her love (or referring to him as her “love”) was dead serious, but she didn’t know if that was coming across. Being that this was the first time she had held such strong feelings for someone, she often wondered if there was a “correct” way to say those kinds of things. If she were to go by Rise’s example, a potentially useful way was to use a sultry or cutesy voice, followed by an excessive amount of touching and hugging and kissing. While that seemed effective, Naoto knew her limits and couldn’t fathom doing any of that. She wanted to be herself, but…what if “herself” wasn’t good enough? After all, if he didn’t want to say he loved her back, would it not be reasonable to believe that it was because he didn’t feel as strongly as her? Could it be that what she thought of their relationship and what he thought were on different wavelengths? She suddenly missed her hat, which was so easy to pull down and bring her to darkness, but it was still with Yosuke, along with her heart. Even through the unpleasantness, the simple truth that she loved him dearly was impossible to deny.

Even then, she wasn’t so socially unaware to not notice how…tense their recent calls had been getting, as if they were in a standoff instead of lonely lovers. Their Saturday call had ended abruptly when Naoto, in a fit of rage, hung up when Yosuke giggled a little when she called him her love; she blamed it on a poor signal from the hotel. That wasn’t an uncommon occurrence; as Naoto began to be less confident and more afraid of her actions, the fear naturally led to anger. The anger was mostly reserved for herself, although Yosuke’s everyday irritants, normally worth simply an unseen eye-roll, were like nails on a chalkboard when she was in that kind of mood. He’d gotten the blunt end of that anger a few times and only sometimes would Naoto catch herself and apologize, at which point she’d be overwhelmed by anxiety and concern for his feelings. She had wanted to say something about him saying “ditto,” but she was terrified of coming across like some vindictive shrew, especially since it was almost always after-the-fact. It was a tricky and exhausting journey, which had only just begun.

With all of that piling up it was a shock she was able to focus on her work at all, but at least the end did truly appear to be near. Mitsuru had finally determined, after some espionage on the part of Labrys and Naoto, who in the Kirijo Group had funded the operatives carrying out Labrys’ abduction, and was in the process of having them sacked from the company so they could no longer access the valuable data stored at its headquarters. It was imperative to Mitsuru, however, that Naoto discover a method of handing the executives over to the law that didn’t involve divulging information about shadows or Personas. Thankfully, with the help of Aigis’ vast databases and Fuuka Yamagishi’s technical wizardry, Naoto had uncovered that the funds used to pay off the specialist group that had taken Labrys were made when the traitors sold stock before an unexpected market plunge. As it turns out, the group had helped orchestrate the plunge by knowingly botching contract disputes in order to distract from their activities. It was a small crime, but insider trading was to be the needle through which Mitsuru would then thread a host of lawsuits based on their internal sabotage. The court case would take a while to settle and the perpetrators would be removed from the company and forced to deal with legal windfall from one of the biggest companies in Japan. They were dead men walking, whether they knew it or not.

Although it was far more low-key than the previous time they had worked together, Naoto found herself greatly enjoying getting back into the swing of things. Late nights studying paperwork, eyeballing potential suspects, and bringing culprits to justice were all things she hadn’t realized how badly she had missed. And no longer was she forced to work with stubborn men who disrespected her age and talent; Mitsuru was more than respectful of her abilities, letting Naoto take point on most of the investigation and giving her free range to use whatever tools were at her disposal. It was such a stark contrast to her usual experience, but Naoto was up to the challenge. Progress came slowly but surely before finally, just three days prior, Naoto had discovered the insider trading.

Of course, that was also when things began to boil over.

In addition to her frustrations with herself and Yosuke’s relationship, Naoto found herself rubbed the wrong way by how deceptive the final nail in the coffin was. There was nothing stopping Mitsuru from going to the police with the information that the men had been funding a public hijacking of an airline carrier, but she chose instead to focus on the insider trading so as not to have to explain the nature of Labrys and why she was on the plane. It was a far slower route to justice, and Naoto was positive that the Kirijo Group had the means to have the court documents sealed so as to hide the realities of their work on anti-shadow weapons. Nevertheless, Mitsuru stubbornly stuck to her guns despite spirited resistance from Naoto, which had gotten a bit heated the past few meetings, including the one earlier that day. Naoto knew she was mainly on edge from everything with Yosuke and was embarrassed that her anger had begun to slip into her work, but had yet to work up the nerve to apologize.

As expected, all of these thoughts swirled together in a tornado that was far too much for her mind to process, and she found her breathing getting unsteady as it threatened to overwhelm her. She shifted her position on the bed and began to take small, deep breaths, hoping that her usual breathing routine could ease some of her anxiety. After a few short reps it seemed to be working, but a sudden knock on the door caused her to inhale sharply and start coughing. Amidst her hacking she managed to get up and inspect the peephole on the tips of her socked feet, a bit nervous since only a few people knew she was in town, let alone where she was staying. A very unnervingly blue set of eyes stared back at her.

“Good evening, Shirogane-san. Please forgive the sudden intrusion, but there is something that I wish to discuss with you. May I come in?” Aigis verbalized through the door, polite as always, although she was impossible to read due to the white noise-like tone she always employed. Still, it would have been rude to not invite her in.

“J-just one moment, please.” Naoto took a minute to straighten out her white shirt and dust off her blue-and-black trousers, wanting to appear as if she wasn’t nearly at her breaking point, and opened the door. Aigis stood patiently, intimidating as ever in her long black coat, scarlet tie and unassuming smile. Were it not for the unique headband adorned atop her blonde hair, Aigis would be nearly indistinguishable from that of a fair-haired foreigner. Only _nearly_ , however; Naoto wasn’t sure she was going to ever get used to the tiny sound of Aigis’ mechanical parts whirring as she walked toward the center of the small room. Indeed, underneath the coat and black trousers she wore was a mechanical body suited for combat; golden hinged plating and hidden slots stood where joints and muscle would be, each containing a potentially deadly weapon to be deployed in dire circumstances. If one looked closely they would not even see feet, but bladed hooves that allowed her to gain traction and speed on nearly any surface. Technology, as Naoto was starting to realize, was far more advanced than she had ever known.

Naoto pulled out the chair from the desk and offered it to Aigis, who gently shook her head.

“I do not require a seat, but I thank you for your consideration.”

“O-oh, yes, of course…” Naoto turned a bit red as she tucked the chair back in, remembering that Aigis probably didn’t get any more exhausted standing than she would sitting due to her not having any muscles to tire. Not wanting to make things more awkward, Naoto chose to stand as well.

“So…What is it you needed to discuss, Aigis-san?” she asked, hoping this wouldn’t take too long as she was expecting Yosuke to call and needed all her energy for that.

“I would like to discuss _you_ , Shirogane-san,” Aigis replied, causing Naoto to give her a confused look.

“M-me?”

Aigis nodded “It has been my observation that you have appeared increasingly uncomfortable in meetings with Mitsuru-san, Fuuka-san, Labrys and myself. Your blood levels have raised, your muscles seem to tighten, and the pitch of your voice reaches a different register.” Naoto gasped and blushed again, unaware that her voice was slipping, while Aigis continued. “I would simply like to inquire whether there is anything that I or our three companions may have said or done as to cause these irregularities, and what steps may be taken so as to rectify those errors.”

As easy as it had flooded her cheeks a few seconds earlier, the blood suddenly drained from Naoto’s face. She had been confronted about potential behavioral issues before, but this seemed to sting just a bit more; Aigis, while not exactly a friend, was a co-worker she had a great fondness for, and she felt terrible that her emotions were so transparent that Aigis felt compelled to say this. Or had she come on Mitsuru’s orders, acting in her stead? Naoto would hate for a recent, temporary moment of weakness to sour what had been a great experience. Her fists clenched and her jaw locked tightly shut as she did her best to not let her emotions get the best of her once again, if only because Aigis was clearly capable of noticing even if Naoto didn’t verbalize them.

“Aigis-san, I…That is, I…”

While she stammered and tried to find a response, Aigis appeared to read her mind. “Please be aware that whatever information you wish to share with me shall not leave this room,” she revealed, holding up her hands in a non-threatening way, “And should you choose not to share any information, that, too, would be acceptable. I am acting on my own readings, which may not be truly representative of your personal feelings.”

Naoto sighed; Aigis didn’t beat around the bush so much as stick her arm right through it. What could she even say? Despite the assurances that it was just between them, Naoto did not want to burden Aigis with the full extent of her personal neuroses. It was strange enough learning how to discuss her feelings and emotions with her lover and her very close friends, but telling that to a colleague who happens to be a robot designed for combat seemed beyond the pale.

She decided to be honest, if not entirely forthcoming. “Truthfully, Aigis-san, I have had a… _situation_ ,” she winced, feeling guilty reducing such an important part of her life to an inelegant word, “back home in Inaba that I have been juggling in addition to this case. It is no excuse if my behavior has been unacceptable, but I have found myself more fatigued than usual lately, and it has caused me to be needlessly short in meetings. Please accept my sincerest apologies,” she finished, bowing gracefully. It wasn’t easy trying to maintain rigid politeness when there was such turmoil within her, but she felt she did her best. Once she re-centered herself she watched carefully for how the android would respond.

Watching Aigis’ face change from her placid normal expression to a more sympathetic look was jarring, but still a relief for Naoto. “Understood, Shirogane-san. We all appreciate the tremendous amount of work you have done for this case and the sacrifices to your personal life you have made. Rest assured, we will not require too much more of your time. And please, do not feel the need to apologize; the intent of this conversation is not to discipline, but to understand.”

Well, that was a huge weight off her shoulders. Naoto breathed easily. “Thank you, Aigis-san. I truly have enjoyed working with you, Kirijo-san, and the others; please don’t take my disagreements as a sign of discontent.”

Aigis nodded in response before her face twisted back into its neutral look. “Of course. In that spirit, may I ask you one final question?”

Naoto was now more curious than anything. “Erm, what is it?” She tried to read Aigis through her eyes, but it was impossible. She had heard the expression that the eyes were the windows to the soul, and while Aigis’ certainly looked human enough, they were far too bright to be the real deal; it was a little stunning to know that behind her very human face were not natural organs but mechanical creations acting in their stead.

“I have noticed a… _contradiction_ of sorts in regards to how Mitsuru-san and Fuuka-san refer to you.” Naoto felt her ears burn, again knowing exactly what she was going to say. “They seem to use honorifics and pronouns associated with that of a male, but all of my bio-scans and readings would indicate that you are, in fact, female. Is this contradiction a potential source of distress for you?”

She realized Aigis could not possibly have meant any offense, but it still hurt beyond words to have someone put her, once again, into the role of “female” as if it was an inescapable, constant truth. It was true that Mitsuru and Fuuka both seemed to genuinely think she was a boy, and Naoto was in no rush to correct them. She didn’t suspect the two would treat her any different if they knew the truth, but, selfishly, it was difficult to deny the sense of euphoria she got from having them earnestly believe, just through some minor style changes, that she was something other than what she had been saddled with from birth. This had been the longest stretch in some time where the knot in her stomach over some hang-up about her face, her hips, or her voice didn’t constantly peck at her through the day, and even the nightly invasive thoughts weren’t so bad.

Still, despite the pleasantness, it was also not wise to _ignore_ the possibility, however small, that they would react negatively to that same truth. She had avoided talking about it either way.

But how to put that to Aigis? Would she understand? _Could_ she understand? It was Naoto’s understanding that she had emotions and was fully capable of feelings of empathy and sympathy, logos _and_ pathos. Aigis was also not exactly “normal,” to put it lightly; was it possible for a robot to have a gender? Did she have the same understandings of it as a human would? Given that, Naoto considered that it was worth a shot. She took a moment to steel herself against the waterfall of emotion that Aigis’ question had raised and instead studied her for a moment; here she found her opening. “Aigis-san, do you…consider yourself a “woman?”

Aigis blinked in surprise, the first time Naoto had ever seen that. “Hmm? I am afraid I do not understand the question. I am not a “female,” nor am I a “male,” as you would understand it. I was created as a machine, devoid of biological markers of sex.”

So far, so good. “But your appearance…Surely it is more feminine than masculine, no?” She was glad to hear her voice had maintained its steady low pitch as her shoulders tingled with nervousness.

“I would agree, and, as such, I make it a priority to dress and refer to myself as if I were an ordinary human girl. But that was the decision of my creator; you asked if _I_ considered myself a woman, to which I say I do not, as I do not contain the biological functions that would signal sex, such as gametes or a reproductive organ. By any scientific definition, I would be a hermaphroditic life form at best, but the truth is that I am simply an evolution of organic life that is not so easily defined by biological processes, such as sex. Referring to me as either male or female isn’t ‘correct’ nor ‘incorrect.’” Naoto half expected her to take a breath after such a detailed and jargon-heavy response, but she remained stalwart and smiling as always. Naoto offered up her own wry smile; Aigis had taken the bait.

“I see,” Naoto said, taking a step closer, “So you are not a woman, and only appear to be one by the determination of your creator, over whose process you had no control over. It is only for the sake of convenience that you present as a woman. Is that correct?”

Aigis’ eyebrow raised just a hair, signaling her intrigue. “That is an accurate summation of my understanding, yes.”

Now was the chance to test the true limits of her reasoning. “Suppose you were in a situation in which it were more convenient that you present as a man. What would you do?”

It was rare to see Aigis pause to think before giving an answer. “Were I in a situation such as the hypothetical one you propose, I would most likely wear different clothing, refer to myself as male, and use my voice conversion module to project a deeper, more masculine voice, in addition to referencing data of other men that I have seen in order to better assert myself socially.”

It was a revealing answer, and precisely what Naoto was thinking. “So despite being born with no biological markers of sex, you would present as a man or woman depending on the situation? Your sex, or lack thereof, would have no determining on what gender you could theoretically present as?”

“I…suppose that would be true, yes.” Aigis seemed to be getting it! Naoto took a deep breath as she launched her final volley.

“So let’s try another tack: take a person who was born with the biological markers of a female. They would have a harder path to it, sure, but could they not _also_ be able to do what you propose? ”

“That’s…” Naoto saw that Aigis’ eyes were shifting, and her stance had wavered a bit. Perhaps she _did_ have limits; Naoto wasn’t sure whether or not the android was capable of parsing out metaphor. To her surprise, Aigis stood firm again and looked her straight in the eyes. “Pardon me, but…would this hypothetical person then not mind whether they were referred to as male or female?”

A shy smile tugged at Naoto’s lips. “I think they would be fine with either, so long as that didn’t affect how they were treated. Perhaps they wouldn’t want to feel chained to an identity that they did not get to choose, much like you.”

Both were silent for a moment before Aigis looked up, her arms folded together at her waist and a brighter, less processed smile lighting up her face. “I believe I now have a far better understanding of the situation. Thank you, Shirogane-san. This conversation was very informative, and as I stated, will remain only between us. Please have a good night.” Was this only her being polite? Did she truly understand? Naoto had no choice but to take her at her word, as none of her perception tactics would work on someone like Aigis.

“The same to you, Aigis-san…”

After a gentle nod, Aigis quietly left the room, the sounds of her legs in motion the only thing accompanying her. Naoto gave a final nod as she passed through the doorway, then slowly collapsed onto the bed after bolting the door again. _That_ was unexpected, but at the same time she was very proud of herself. The pressure in her head and heart was tremendous, and it felt like at any point during that conversation she could have burst, but held back and was able to convey her position in coded but clear language. Whether she truly understood was impossible to tell, but for once, Naoto felt like having a little faith. Still, it was all very tiring, and her happiness now didn’t quite offset just how much she wanted to close her eyes and drift away into the sweet embrace of sl –

_-Bzzzzzzzzz-_

Naoto snapped her eyes back open and grabbed her vibrating phone from the charger cord on the desk.

_Hanamura Yosuke_

Her thumb instinctually hovered over the call button, but Naoto caught herself at the last second. She was feeling good, but if there was even the _slightest_ chance that Yosuke was going to say “ditto” again, her night would be ruined. The thought of it was already starting to settle in her stomach, and the familiar, uncomfortable mist of anger was starting to cloud her mind. She wondered just how many more times Yosuke would be able to deal with her lashing out again.

 _No_. Just…not tonight. Even if it hurt like hell.

She set the phone down and let it bleat for a little longer, each second more painful than the last. Mercifully it stopped, and Naoto once again folded up onto the bed, sniffling as the stress of the whole day leaked out, spreading dark stains on the white hotel sheets. Who was she kidding? Her night was ruined either way.

* * *

_Sunday, 9/24/12, ?????_

Marie could tell by the smell. The limousine always had a very unique scent, as if every time she left someone came in and spritzed every inch of every surface with the concoction. It wasn’t quite flowery, and it wasn’t quite earthy, but something in-between that and the sweet fragrance of something like vanilla, or lime.

She _hated_ it.

It was _too_ nice, plastic and phony just like the Nose and Margaret were. Who was _that_ calm all the time?

Opening her eyes, Marie noted that she was still in a swivel chair, but everything around her had changed. It felt like only seconds earilier that she was in the green room (which was weirdly not green?) of the Inaba public access station, having just finished yet another news broadcast. As usual, she had wanted some time to herself to unwind, and only closed her eyes so she could shift her pupils back to their regular jade color when everything seemed to change. The poster-sized mirror adorned with a headband of lightbulbs had vanished, an inky darkness in its place, beckoning Marie to get out of the chair and walk towards it. She let out a haughty huff and hopped out of the chair, gliding expertly on a pair of black pumps through the oppressive shadows. She was still wearing her TV outfit: a pinstriped black blazer over a ruffled white blouse, a tight pencil skirt that matched the blazer completing the ensemble. The fashionable glasses and dangling gold earrings were random accessories that Teddie thought would add to a “mature” image. She thought they looked stupid, but he seemed really excited so she had given in.

It only took a few seconds of walking to see what lay on the other side of the black veil. Rows and rows of bookcases dominated Marie’s vision, extending in either direction as far as the eye could see, a deep blue carpeting suddenly springing forth to give some color to the darkness. Nearby was an elegant wooden spiral staircase, leading up to a second story with even more bookcases lined up. Despite the thick aura that made her head feel foggy, Marie’s godlike power was sharp as ever as she whirled around, sensing someone else was approaching.

In front of a long study table adorned with a few lanterns holstering crackling blue flames was a familiar face. Margaret hadn’t changed a bit: stunning blue dress with a thigh slit, a blue pair of pumps to match Marie’s, and her curly hair held in place with a black headband. Ever present with her was an enormous tome and a wicked ruby red smile that betrayed her secretive glowing yellow eyes.

“What…What the hell do you want?” Marie snapped, not exactly fond of being whisked away like this. Margaret and the Nose had kicked her out of the Velvet Room a few months back, something she was still bitter about. She never particularly _liked_ either of them, as they had an incredibly annoying habit of talking without saying much and keeping secrets, but the eviction had been the straw that broke the camel’s back. Her fists were clenched, but Marie was struggling to break through the haziness to remember _how_ to use her powers against Margaret. Controlling the weather was all well and good, but she got a feeling weather didn’t exactly “fit” the Velvet Room aesthetic.

“Spirited as always,” Margaret sighed happily, her docile smile unflappable in the face of otherworldly sass. “Welcome to the Velvet Room.”

While Margaret’s appearance and the smell seemed to confirm that statement, Marie was still skeptical. “Pfft, what’s with the new digs? Get a flat tire?”

Still no change from Margaret. “The Velvet Room is unique for all of its guests, meant to reflect the journey that lies ahead.”

“Huh? Journey?” Marie didn’t understand; wasn’t that what the point of being in the stupid cramped limo was? “I already played you and The Nose’s stupid game, leave me alone! Crazypsychostalker!” She turned to walk away but was surprised to see an endless abyss had swallowed up where the chair had been. Rolling her emerald eyes, she fixed a deathly glare at Margaret while sharpening her tongue for its sharpest skewering yet.

“Before you say anything more,” Margaret spoke before Marie unleashed her fury, “Please understand that my master has nothing to do with this. This is not the… _typical_ journey we have in mind for our guests, but I feel you are owed my aid, at least, in exchange for the work you have done for us with my previous guest. This is why I persuaded my master to release you from the Velvet Room of our previous guest, into one of our very own.”

 _Yu._ She was talking about Yu. All of a sudden all those feelings came rushing back, the blink of an eye that had been their time together and the crushing realization that, anchored to Inaba as she was, she could no longer see him. It had been getting easier to deal with the more time passed, but each reminder was a painful jab. And it was _Margaret_ that got her kicked out? So she could get her _own_ Velvet Room? Nothing was making any sense.

“So you kicked me out just so you could mess with me some more? What kind of backwards thinking is that!? I…I liked being in his room…” Marie wasn’t one to show weakness in front of someone she didn’t care for, but this was a hard pill to swallow

“I understand that you formed an unbreakable bond with him. I confess that I, too, share a special bond of sorts with him.” Margaret said, almost as if she had read Marie like an open book. “He was truly fascinating. To honor that bond, I’d like to extend the same services to you as I did to him, to aid you as you continue on your journey.”

She was so _annoying_ , Marie thought. Always talking in riddles and confusing speech that made no sense! This “journey” was the same one The Nose had mentioned when he and she kicked Marie out of the limousine Velvet Room. What more did she have to learn? She already remembered that she was Izanami-no-Mikoto and the “wish” of everyone’s lives, and had decided to watch over Inaba and protect humanity there with all her power. How much more to her odyssey _was_ there?

“Can you just talk normal for once!? What ‘journey?’ I…I’ve already remembered everything, even the bad stuff. And he’s not even around anymore…I’m _sick_ of feeling like I don’t have any control over my life anymore, you hear me!?” Her desperate questions were met that that same unmoving face. Oh, how she wanted to rip it right off. Normally, this mood would have her fingertips feeling as if they could shatter diamonds, black clouds swirling overhead while thunder gurgled in their midst. No matter what, however, the Velvet Room’s existence being somewhere between a dream and oblivion meant that all of her powers were as subdued as she had been for so long. It made her even madder.

Margaret instead turned to the table that was just behind her, revealing a single tarot card laying on the table. She urged Marie over, which the goddess did with more than a little reluctance. Looking at the card, Marie saw it was a picture of a star with a small face drawn on it. She knew enough from her time helping Yu to fuse Persona that this was the Star Arcana. But what did it mean, again?

“The Star…What, is this s’posed to be me?”

“Not quite,” Margaret revealed, turning her eyes to the card. “The Star Arcana can represent hope, much like the bright stars in the sky give to those below them. So long as they shine bright, there is always a path. The Star exists in your life right now, even if you don’t know it. Seeking that out is your journey.”

 _Huh?_ So she was _fetching_ someone? A smart remark was the only viable response, in Marie’s opinion. “If you want a star so bad, why not do it yourself? You’ve seen StarScandalz, you know where they are!”

Another wry laugh. “As always, you maintain your refreshing sense of wit. This is not for me, however, but for you. This bond will be the most fulfilling in your life as you continue to walk the path of everyday humans, and were it to be forsaken, you may wind up lost in the fog of uncertainty once again.”

The words rung ominous to Marie. The fog had been her prison, where she languished for so long as a pawn of Ameno-sagiri, one of the entities that emerged from her original self being split. It also almost killed her, until Yu and his friends intervened. Her “lasting happiness” would be stuck in the fog? Infuriatingly cryptic, but frightening enough to give her pause. Despite how tired she had been sitting in the makeup chair, it would be hard to deny that since she had left the original Velvet Room she had been having a pretty fun time living in the human world. The idea that it could come to an entirely preventable end was worth considering.

“So…If I don’t go along with your stupid games,” Marie sighed, crossing her arms, “Then…Then I’ll be stuck in the fog again?”

“I think it would be wise to accept my offer, but the choice is always yours, Marie.” As always, Margaret didn’t mince words or commit too hard to any one idea. Marie didn’t feel she had much of a choice; she wouldn’t wish being stuck in a fog of uncertainty and memory loss on her worst enemy.

“ _-Sigh-_ …Alright, _fine_. Would you at least tell me who the heck this Star person is in my regular life?” Marie relented.

“I’m sure that will become quite clear,” Margaret answered, plucking the card up from the table and placing it back into her tome, “Continue on as you have been doing. The knowledge that the bond you have been forging is important will already put you on the correct path. I will reach out to you again when the time comes for you to put the power of this bond to use. Until then, farewell.”

As she said that, the shadows around them began to warp and twist, as if they were collapsing in on themselves. Before Marie could chastise Margaret again for her vagueness, she suddenly felt dizzy and weak, similar to when she would try to remember her past. The royal blue flames extinguished and cast Marie into even further darkness as she felt her body drifting through the floor and across a space indescribable, even for her more shrewd tongue. Losing consciousness, she could only focus on a few fragments of what Margaret had told her: “Journey.” “Fog.” “Bond.” “Star.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes for Chapter 2:
> 
> -Welcome back!
> 
> -Naoto is in a bit of a rough spot! I imagined that the reason Naoto was so broken up about leaving was that she felt the worst of her habits would be most notable via long distance, and it seems she's convinced herself this is true. She wants to study and break down Yosuke, but her feelings keep getting in the way, as does his sometimes-confusing behavior. 
> 
> -Mostly we see that Naoto is very, *very* serious about her love, while Yosuke seems nonchalant or, at worst, uncaring. Does he mean to be that way? Naoto can't figure it out, and it's causing her a lot of distress :(
> 
> -Aigis! I've always liked Aigis and I wanted her to have some time to shine in this story as well. Here we see Naoto try to find some common ground on a very difficult subject, and Aigis surprises her by seeming to get what Naoto is getting at. I've always wondered myself what it would be like for Aigis, who is very much modeled after a teen girl, to think about what she sees herself as, gender-wise, and of anybody in Naoto's immediate circle might understand her conflicted feelings, it would be her.
> 
> -Marie! Marie is now, as luck would have it, a special guest of the Velvet Room, and gets her own room accordingly. Since she loves to write poetry and still has a lot to learn about living in the human world, I figured a library would be perfect.
> 
> -Margaret shows up to give Marie a sense of where she is at in her journey, revealing the Star card. Now *whom* was associated with the Star Arcana in P4G? If you remember, you might see where we're going...
> 
> -One thing I tried to show was that Marie is sort of *done* with people telling her what to do or using her for their gain, which will be important as the story goes on. She's always been a tool for others since she started remembering who she was, and she's still itching to be free of that. Could her journey provide her that freedom?
> 
> -So Naoto's at a rough path in her journey, while Marie is just starting hers. Next chapter we're going to see another journey start when Chie and Yumi have their first training session! Also, Yukiko has finally gotten Kanji to commit to coming over, and she wants to make sure the night is perfect. As she gets ready, what's going on in her mind? What does she want out of it? Tune in next time and find out!


End file.
